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Last Dance at Memphis

It was the final event at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, with the ASA Late Model Challenge Series. A winner would be crowned...and a champion as well by the end of the night. Night being the operative word...as nightfall would play a huge role in how the events would unfold.

Brent Downey & Drew Brannon would start on the front row for the 300-lap feature. Downey would get the jump on Brannon when the green flag dropped and West Salem's Steve Carlson, who started on the inside of row two, would follow him through. As Downey & Carlson came off of turn two--Downey drifted high. Carlson pounced and got under him down the backstretch, and closed the deal as the pair entered turn 3. Carlson would lead the first lap...and a great many overall during the race...until after the first competition caution at lap 100.

Shortly after the second segment started, Carlson would call to his team that he was feeling some vibration in the car and thought he had a tire going down. And sure enough, he did--the right rear. Carlson dove into the pits under green and his team feverishly went to work to change out the flat tire. He would get back out on the track--two laps down.

Carlson methodically picked his way through the traffic, and was able to get himself into position to make up not just one--but both of the laps he was down. He was fortunate to have over half of the race left to get it done. With 10-laps remaining, Carlson would find himself in 4th place. He was able to pass fast qualifier, Tommy Joe Martins for 3rd place before the final caution flag flew for an incident on the front stretch with 7 laps remaining. Carlson was running 3rd, behind Dillon Oliver and Drew Brannon respectively.

Cautions had seriously riddled the entire race. Chris Eggleston's car started on fire. Eddie Hoffman's engine blew up. Lots of drivers drove overly aggressive and ended up in mangled messes and others lost control in fluids that were left on the track from those messes. The night drew on...the sun dipped lower on the horizon...and as it turned out (like last year, only then it was to the USST Truck Series, who ran the last race of the day) the lack of lights at the facility would dictate the end of the race.

Yes, it's true. Despite Memphis Motorsports Park having the new technology of safer wall barriers in the turns...the facility lacks lights for any dusk or night racing. And so, those final 7 laps would be run under caution. No green-white-checkered finish to the Kings Ransom 300. How they were is how it would stand. Dillon Oliver would take the yellow-checkered flag combo, Drew Brannon would be 2nd...and Steve Carlson, after fighting back from a 2-lap deficit would have to settle for 3rd.

Video highlights have been uploaded and can be navigated to by clicking on "videos" in the lefthand column...or if you're lazy, just click HERE. Here are a few photos from the day: